Fiber optic adapter module

ABSTRACT

A fiber optic adapter assembly includes a plurality of adapters included in an integrally formed body. Each of the adapters may include a protective shutter mounted within one end. The adapter assembly may be configured to mount to a chassis and position the adapters for receiving fiber optic connectors of telecommunications modules mounted to the chassis.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is related to commonly owned co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/980,978, filed on Nov. 3, 2004, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present invention generally relates to fiber optictelecommunications equipment. More specifically, the present inventionrelates to fiber optic adapter modules and chassis for holding fiberoptic modules.

BACKGROUND

In fiber optic telecommunications systems, it is common for opticalfibers of transmission cables to be split into multiple strands, eitherby optical splitting of a signal carried by a single stranded cable orby fanning out the individual fibers of a multi-strand cable. Further,when such systems are installed, it is known to provide excess capacityin the installations to support future growth and utilization of thefibers. Often in these installations, modules including splitters orfanouts are used to provide the connection between transmission fibersand customer fibers. To reduce the cost and complexity of the initialinstallation and still provide options for future expansion, a modulemounting chassis capable of mounting multiple modules may be used insuch an installation.

While the chassis may accept several modules, the initial installationmay only include fewer modules mounted in the chassis, or enough toserve current needs. These chassis may be configured with limited accessto one or more sides, or may be mounted in cramped locations. Inaddition, some of these chassis may be pre-configured with the maximumcapacity of transmission cables to accommodate and link to modules whichmay be installed in the future. Since it is desirable to have access tocomponents within the chassis for cleaning during the installation of anew module, some provision or feature of the chassis will desirablypermit a user to access and clean the connectors of thesepre-connectorized and pre-installed transmission cables.

It is also desirable for the chassis to be configured to ensure thatmodules are installed correctly and aligned with other components withinthe chassis to mate with the pre-connectorized and pre-installedtransmission cables.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates to a fiber optic adapter assemblyincluding a plurality of adapters included in an integrally formed body.Each of the adapters may include a protective shutter mounted within oneend. The adapter assembly may be configured to mount to a chassis andposition the adapters for receiving fiber optic connectors oftelecommunications modules mounted to the chassis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the description, illustrate several aspects of the invention andtogether with the detailed description, serve to explain the principlesof the invention. A brief description of the drawings is as follows:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a telecommunications assembly witha plurality of fiber optic modules installed through a front opening.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective of the telecommunications assembly of FIG.1, taken from an opposite side.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the telecommunications assembly ofFIG. 1, with one of the modules exploded out of the assembly andmounting flanges removed from the upper and lower surfaces of thechassis.

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the telecommunications assembly ofFIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 7, witha fiber optic adapter holder exploded out of the assembly.

FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of the telecommunicationsassembly of FIG. 1, taken through the center of one of the modulesmounted within the assembly.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 1,with one of the modules removed to show the adapter holder mountedwithin the interior of the assembly.

FIG. 12 is a front perspective view of the adapter holder of FIG. 11,removed from the assembly.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the adapter holder of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a rear view of the adapter holder of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the adapter holder of FIG. 12.

FIG. 16 is a top view of the adapter holder of FIG. 12.

FIG. 17 is a front perspective view of an alternative telecommunicationsassembly according to the present invention, with a plurality of fiberoptic splitter modules mounted within a chassis and two modules explodedfrom their mounted positions.

FIG. 18 is a front view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a top view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 17.

FIG. 20 is a bottom view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 17,with a cable management structure mounted adjacent one side of thechassis.

FIG. 21 is a top view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 20,with a top of the chassis removed.

FIG. 22 is a front perspective view of the telecommunications assemblyof FIG. 21, with one of the modules exploded from its mounting positionwithin the chassis.

FIG. 23 is a first side view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG.20.

FIG. 24 is a second side view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG.20.

FIG. 25 is a front view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 20with two of the module removed.

FIG. 26 is a rear view of the telecommunications assembly of FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a front view of the chassis of the telecommunicationsassembly of FIG. 25, with the modules and adapter assemblies removedfrom within the chassis.

FIG. 28 is a rear view of the chassis of FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is a first side view of the chassis of FIG. 27.

FIG. 30 is a second side view of the chassis of FIG. 27.

FIG. 31 is a top view of the chassis of FIG. 27.

FIG. 32 is a top view of an adapter assembly according to the presentinvention with extended dust plugs inserted a front end of each adapterand standard duct plugs inserted within a rear end of each adapter.

FIG. 33 is a bottom partially exploded perspective view of the adapterassembly of FIG. 32.

FIG. 34 is a front view of the adapter assembly of FIG. 32.

FIG. 35 is a first side view of the adapter assembly of FIG. 32.

FIG. 36 is a front perspective view of the adapter assembly of FIG. 32,with the dust plugs removed from the adapters and a shutter partiallyexploded from its mounting position adjacent one of the adapters.

FIG. 37 is a front view of the adapter assembly of FIG. 36.

FIG. 38 is a rear view of the adapter assembly of FIG. 36.

FIG. 39 is a first side view of the adapter assembly of FIG. 36.

FIG. 40 is a second side view of the adapter assembly of FIG. 36.

FIG. 41 is a top view of the adapter assembly of FIG. 36.

FIG. 42 is a bottom view of the adapter assembly of FIG. 36, with accesspanels for each adapter of the assembly removed.

FIG. 43 is a top perspective view of a splitter module according to thepresent invention for use with the assembly of FIG. 17.

FIG. 44 is a bottom exploded perspective view of the splitter module ofFIG. 43.

FIG. 45 is a bottom view of the splitter module of FIG. 44, with thecover removed.

FIG. 46 is a top view of the splitter module of FIG. 43.

FIG. 47 is a bottom view of the splitter module of FIG. 43.

FIG. 48 is a first side view of the splitter module of FIG. 43.

FIG. 49 is a second side view of the splitter module of FIG. 43.

FIG. 50 is a rear view of the splitter module of FIG. 43.

FIG. 51 is a front view of the splitter module of FIG. 43.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary aspects of the presentinvention which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverpossible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or similar parts.

FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunications assembly 10 with mountinglocations 12 for mounting a plurality of modules 14. Assembly 10includes a chassis or housing 16 with a first major side 18, a secondmajor side 20 and a pair of opposing transverse sides 22 extendingbetween the first and second major sides. A mounting flange 24 may bemounted to each of the major sides extending generally oppositely ofeach other. A secondary or alternative mounting flange 26 may also bemounted to one of the major sides to provide options for mountinghousing 16 to a particular size or shape of equipment rack, cabinet orother type of installation.

Housing 16 defines a front opening 28 through which modules 14 areinserted within an interior 30 (shown below in FIG. 7) of housing 16.Openings 32 may be defined in the transverse sides 22 to permit accessby a person into interior 30. Openings 32 may include a protective pad34 about a perimeter to provide chafe and other injury to any handswhich may pass into or out of interior 30 through one of the openings32. Visible through opening 32 in FIG. 1 is a housing 40 of one of themodules 14 mounted within front opening 28. Flanges 24 and 26 mayinclude a plurality of fastener openings 36 for mounting housing 16where needed in a telecommunications installation.

Referring now to FIG. 2, each module 14 includes a releasably catch 42adjacent second major side 20. As can be seen below in and describedwith to FIG. 10, catch 42 engages a portion of housing 16 to hold module14 within front opening 28 and can also be deflected to permitwithdrawal of module 14 from housing 16. Each module 14 also may includeone or more cable exits 44 extending from a front face 46. Cable exits44 permit telecommunications cables within module 14 to be directedoutside of module 14, as will be described below with regard to FIG. 10.As shown in FIG. 2, front faces 46 of modules 14 are angled with regardto front opening 28, which may aid in the direction of cables exitingmodule 14 toward a desired location in the telecommunicationsinstallation. It is anticipated that front faces 46 could be madegenerally parallel to front edges 38 of transverse sides 22 at frontopening 28 within the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 3, modules 14 includes unequal length flanges 48and 50 which are received within correspondingly sized slots 52 and 54,respectively. Flange 48 and slot 52 are smaller in size than flange 50and slot 54. Slot 52 is sized so that, while flange 48 may be receivedwithin slot 52, larger flange 50 will not fit. This ensures that modules14 are positioned within front opening 28 in a particular desiredorientation. Similar flanges are described in commonly-owned U.S. Pat.No. 5,363,465, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference. Opposite latch 42 and mounted to housing 16 at each mountinglocation 12 are an adapter holder 56 releasably held within frontopening 28 by a thumbscrew 58. Adapter holder 56 is described in furtherdetail below with regard to FIGS. 9 to 16.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, housing 16 further includes a back 60opposite front opening 28, substantially closing off the rear of housing16. Openings may be provided through back 60 to allow cables or air topass, but it is anticipated that user access into interior 30 of housing16 will be made through front opening 28. As shown in FIG. 6, on one endof modules 14, a lip or finger grip 62 may be included to aid removal ofmodule 14 from housing 16. Finger grip 62 is preferably positioned onmodule 14 opposite latch 42 so that a user may apply opposing force withfingers or hands to securely grasp the module and remove it from housing16.

Referring now to FIG. 7, latch 42 of module 14 includes a recessed area66 which engages an edge 64 of mounting location 12 to hold module 14 inplace within front opening 28. Recessed area 66 is formed near a distalend of latch 42 and a flexible portion 68 extends from recessed area 66to a point of connection to a first side 70 of module 14. Flexibleportion 68 is resiliently deformable and allows a user to deflect latch42 to disengage recessed area 66 from edge 64 and remove module 14 fromhousing 16 or for latch 42 to deflect as module 14 is inserted intofront opening 28 and engage edge 64. Module 14 includes a secondopposing side 72 and a back 78. An intermediate rear face 76 is formedin second side 72 by an inset side portion 74. A pair of fiber opticconnectors 80 is positioned in rear face 76 to mate with fiber opticadapters mounted to adapter holder 56 within interior 30 of housing 16.

Module housing 40 also includes a first transverse face 82 extendingbetween first side 70, second side 72, back 78 and front face 46. Asecond transverse face 84 closes off the opposite side of module housing40 between front face 46 and back 78 but extends beyond sides 70 and 72to form flanges 48 and 50 (flange 50 is not visible in FIG. 7). In FIG.8, flange 50 is visible as an extension of second transverse face 84beyond side 70 of module 14. Module housing 40 may include curvedtransitions 86 between sides 70 and 72 and back 78. Transitions 86 maybe shaped to provide bend radius protection to cables within interior 30as the cables extend to adapters 88. Alternatively, sides 70 and 72 mayterminate directly at back 78, depending on the needs for placingcomponents within module housing 40 and efficiencies in manufacturing ofmodule housing 40.

FIG. 9 shows assembly 10 with adapter holder 54 exploded out frominterior 30. Holder 54 includes an extension 86 to hold and position apair of adapters 88 to engage connectors 80 of module 14. Each adapter88 includes a first or rear end 90 and a second or front end 92, andeach of the first and second ends are adapted to receive a fiber opticconnector which may terminate a fiber optic cable.

FIG. 10 shows a cross-section of assembly 10 with a first cable 94extending from connector 80 to an optical component 98, mounted withinan interior 96 of module housing 40. Optical component 98 may be asplitter or a fan-out or another type of optically significant element.First cable 94 may be a multi-strand fiber cable with a plurality ofstrands of optical fiber and optical component 98 may be a fanout toseparate the individual strands into each of a plurality of secondcables 100. Second cables 100 extend from optical component 98 to cableexit 44. Alternatively, first cable 94 may be a single fiber whosesignal is separated by optical component 98 which is a splitter and aplurality of second cables 100 carrying portions of the signal fromfirst cable 94 may extend to cable exit 44. The arrangement of opticalfiber and sheathing at cable exit 44 may be as disclosed incommonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/658,802, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

An outside cable 102 may extend to rear end 90 of adapter 88 and beterminated by a connector 104. Connector 104 may be received in rear end90 to be optically connected to connector 80 of module 14. Cable 102 mayextend from interior 30 of housing 16 through an opening in one of sides18, 20, or 22 in housing 16.

Referring now to FIG. 11, assembly 10 has a module removed from one ofthe mounting locations 12 and includes an alternative adapter holder 154in that mounting location 12. Holder 154 includes a shield 108 in frontof second ends 92 of adapters 88. In some installations, a housing 16may be installed and a cable 102 led to and connected to first ends 90of adapters 88, before a module 14 is placed in the associated mountinglocation 12. If cable 102 is illuminated and transmitting light signals,shield 108 will prevent accidental exposure to these signals which mightdamage eyes or other sensitive organs, or nearby communicationsequipment.

In FIG. 12, holder 154 includes an opening 124 through extension 86through which adapters 88 are mounted. Thumbscrew 56 extends through afront flange 114 and pair of wall engaging flanges 116 extend backwardfrom adjacent front flange 114. Alternatively, other releasablefeatures, such as snap fit devices, quarter turn fasteners, swelllatches or similar features may be used in place of thumbscrew 56 onholder 54 or 154. Positioned between a forward end of each flange 116and front flange 114 is a slot 118. Toward a rear end of flanges 116 area pair of wall slots 120. As shown in FIG. 10, an inner wall 110 ispositioned within interior 30 offset inwardly from first major surface18. Wall slots 120 extend along both sides of inner wall 110. Aturned-in forward edge 112 of first major surface 18 engages slot 118.These engagements between housing 16 and holder 154 correctly positionadapters offset from inner wall 110 within interior 30 to engageconnector 80 on rear face 76 of module 14. A central member 122 extendsfrom front flange 114 between wall flanges 116 to extension 86 tocorrectly position adapters 88 within interior 30 between front opening28 and rear 60.

Referring now to FIGS. 13 to 16, extension 86 of holder 154 includes aplurality of fastener openings 124 for mounting adapters 88 to extension86. Fasteners 126 may be extended through side flanges 128 of adapter 88to permit secure mounting of adapters 88. Adapters 88 are shown as SCstyle connectors, although other types, styles and formats of adaptersmay be used within the scope of the present disclosure and connectors 80and 104 changed to mate with these alternative adapters. Within each ofthe adapters 88 shown may be an alignment device, such as a split sleeve130 to correctly position optical fiber terminated in a ferrule and heldby connectors 80 and 104. Such alignment devices and terminationferrules are well known in the art.

Shield 108 is curved when viewed from the side, as in FIG. 15, so thatshield 108 will be deflected by module 14 as module 14 is inserted intointerior 30 through front opening 28 so that connectors 80 can mate withadapters 88. Shield 108 is preferably made of a resilient deformablematerial that will return to the position shown in FIG. 154 when themodule 14 is withdrawn from mounting location 12. Shield 108 may beconnected to central member 122 by a pair of fasteners such as screws132. Alternatively, shield 108 could be connected to holder 154 by beingformed integrally with holder 154 or by spot-welding or other fasteningtechniques. As rear 60 closes off the rear of housing 16 so that is noaccess to the rear any modules 14 mounted at a mounting location 12,providing a second shield 108 to block light from first end 90 of eachadapter 88 is not needed as shown. However, if any sensitive equipmentis mounted within module 14 or housing 16, it may be desirable to have asecond shield 108 blocking first side 90 of adapters 88.

Insertion of module 14 into housing 16 at one of the mounting locations12 may include first unfastening thumbscrew 56 and removing holder 54 or154 from interior 30 through front opening 28. Cable 102 preferablyincludes enough excess length or slack within interior 30 to permitadapters 88 to be pulled through opening 28. Once positioned outside ofinterior 30, connector 104 of cable 102 can be removed from first end 90of adapter 88 to permit a polished endface of an optical fiber withincable 102 to be cleaned. Connector 104 can then be reinserted withinfirst end 90. Holder 54 or 154 can be reinserted within interior 30 sothat the holder engages inner wall 110 and inward turned extension 112and thumbscrew 56 resecured. Insertion of module 14 into front opening28 begins the mating of module 14 to housing 16 and adapters 88. Flanges48 and 50 engage slots 52 and 54, respectively, as module 14 isinserted. Connectors 80 and portions of second side 72 engage anddeflect shield 108 (if present) as connectors 80 approach second ends 92of adapters 88. Further insertion of module 14 brings connectors 80 intoand contact with adapters 88 and the connectors are received withinsecond ends 92. Latch 42 is deflected inward as module 14 is insertedand then springs back so that recessed area 66 engages edge 64. Module14 is now mounted within front opening 28 and interior 30 at mountinglocation 12 and in position to process and transmit signals from cable102 through first cable 94, optical component 98 and second cable 100within module interior 96.

Referring now to FIGS. 17 to 19, an alternative embodiment 200 of atelecommunications assembly includes a plurality of fiber optic splittermodules 202 mounted in mounting locations 206 in a front 214 of chassis204. Chassis 204 includes a top 208, a pair of opposing sides 210 and apair of mounting flanges extending outward from sides 210 adjacent front214. Chassis 204 also includes a rear 216. Front 214 defines a pairvertical stacks of mounting locations 206 which are offset front to rearfrom each other to provide improved cable pathways for fiber opticcables extending from modules 202.

FIGS. 20 to 26 illustrate assembly 200 with a cable management structure220 mounted to one of the mounting flanges 212 and a bottom 218. Two ofthe modules 202 have been removed from mounting locations 206. Referringnow specifically to FIGS. 21 and 22, each module 202 includes up to fourrear facing connectors 226 which are received within an adapter assembly222 positioned at each mounting location 206. As shown, rear 218 ofchassis 204 is open for entry of fiber optic cables extending to a rearside of adapter assembly 222 and a rear cable protector is mountedadjacent rear 218 to assist direction of these rear entering cables toadapter assembly 222. Each adapter assembly 222 includes up to fourfiber optic adapters 232 which are configured to receive one of the rearfacing connectors 226 in a front end and connector of a rear enteringfiber optic cable in the opposite end.

Referring now also to FIGS. 27 to 31, each mounting location 206includes a pair of opposing slots 228 when engage flanges 230 extendingfrom sides of modules 202 to positions connectors 226 of modules 202 toengage adapter assembly 222.

FIGS. 32 to 35 show adapter assembly 222 removed from chassis 204.Adapter assembly 222 includes four integrated adapters 232 and eachadapter has a rear end 234 and a front end 236. As shown in FIGS. 32 and33, a dust plug 238 is positioned in each rear end 234 and an extendeddual dust plug 240 is inserted within the front ends of each pair ofadapters 232 to seal the interior of adapters 232 from contaminants.Adapter assembly 222 includes an adapter housing portion 246 withinwhich are located adapters 232, and a chassis mounting slide 248 whichis received within chassis 204 through front end 214 and whichcooperates with chassis 204 to define a mounting location 206. A flange250 extends from mounting slide 248 and a thumbscrew 252 for securingadapter assembly 222 within chassis 204 extends through flange 250.Screw 252 is positioned within an opening 254, and is preferably acaptive fastener, although other fasteners may be used.

As shown in FIG. 33, each adapter 232 is positioned within housingportion 246. Elements of adapter 232 are positioned through an opening256 into an adapter recess 258. The elements for each adapter 232include a ferrule alignment sleeve 260 and a pair of inner housinghalves 262. These elements are placed within recess 258 in mannersimilar to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,663, issued May 20, 1993,the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. A panel 264closes opening 256 and secures the elements within each adapter 232.

Referring now to FIGS. 36 to 41, a shutter 244 is positioned within afront opening 266 in front end 236 of each adapter 232 to provideprotection against accidental exposure to light. Shutters similar toshutter 244 are described in PCT Publication No. WO 03/093889A1,published on Nov. 12, 2003, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference. Shutter 244 slides into a slot 268 in housingportion 246. A tab 270 extends from shutter 244 and engages a tab recess272 to retain shutter 244 in position within each adapter 232. Whileshutter 244 is not essential to the function of adapter 232 inconnecting fiber optic cables, it is desirable to provide protectionagainst accidental optical signal exposure that could cause injury toworkers or other equipment. Preferably, shutter 244 does not engage theferrule of the connector inserted into each adapter 232. Instead, theconnector housing pushes shutter 244 out of the way.

FIG. 42 illustrates adapter assembly 222 with access panels 264 removedto show elements of each adapter 232 within recesses 258.

FIG. 43 shows splitter module 202 with side flanges 230 for engagingslots 228 of mounting locations 206 within chassis 204. Connectors 226are mounted to an inset bulkhead 274 positioned between a front 276 anda rear 278 of a module body 280. A screw cover flange 282 extends fromone of a pair of sides 284 of body 280 and latch 42 extends from theother side 284. Flange 282 extends over screw 252 of adapter assembly222 when module 202 is mounted within chassis 204. This prevents removalof adapter assembly 222 or loosening of screw 252 when module 202 ismounted at a mounting location 206. Cable exits 44 permit passage ofoptical fibers from within body 280 through front 276 so that the fibersmay be extended through cable structure 220 and to othertelecommunications equipment.

Referring now to FIG. 44, module 202 includes an interior 286 defined bybody 280 and removable bottom plate 288, which is held to body 280 by aplurality of removable fasteners such as screws 290. Mounted withininterior 286 adjacent and behind each cable exits 44 are a pair of fiberanchors 292. As noted with regard to module 14 above, module 202preferable houses a splitter which receives a single fiber strand on oneend and plurality of fiber strands on the other end. Module 202 includesup to four rear connectors 226 and so may include up to four splitters(not shown in FIG. 44). Within interior 286, each connector 226 mayinclude an angled strain relief boot 227 to provide for redirection of afiber terminated by connector 226.

Connectors 226 are access from outside interior 286 through an opening292 in body 180. A connector mounting block 296 spaces and securesconnectors 226 for interface with and engagement of adapters 232 ofadapter assembly 222. Mounting block 296 also includes an upper cableguide 298 for routing cables within interior 286 between connectors 226and exits 44. A splitter mount 300 is also included within interior 286for positioning and securing one or more optical splitters or otheroptical components within module 202. A central support post and screwboss 302 may also be positioned to provide additional support to bottomplate 288. A finger grip or handle 304 extends from front 276 to providea convenient grip for removing module 202 from chassis 204, or otherwiseassisting in handling.

Referring now to FIGS. 45 to 51, module 202 includes a full depthportion 306 adjacent front 276 and into which connectors 226 directincoming fibers, and a partial depth portion 308 beginning adjacentconnectors 226 and extending to rear 278. The number of connectors 226that may be mounted to module 202 does not permit sides 184 from beingmoved toward each other, reducing the width of interior 286, withoutencroaching too significantly on cable routing space within interior286. Having partial depth portion 308 extending from rear 278 toconnectors 226 permits adapters to be overlapped with body 280, which isnot possible with module 14, described above. The reduced depth doesreduce the volume of interior 286 but does not adversely impact bendradius requirements within interior 286. A transition 310 provides asmooth flow between the depths of portions 306 and 308. A smoothtransition may be desirable to reduce any sharp angles within interior286 that fibers may come in contact with, and also may permit easierforming or construction of body 280.

In module 202, connectors 226 are positioned within the top viefootprint of body 280, i.e., between sides 284, and are also inset fromrearmost extension of module 202, i.e., rear 278.

Modules 202 are configured so that they can be mounted within chassis204 from the front without having to access any rear connections, oncethe adapter assemblies 222 have been positioned and connected to cables.Access to cables and connectors connected to rear end 234 of adapterassemblies 222 may be provided by pulling the assemblies through front214 of chassis 204 by releasing screw 252 so that these connectors maybe accessed for inspection or cleaning.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the invention. Since manyembodiments of the invention can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claimshereinafter appended.

1. A fiber optic adapter module comprising: a unitary body with ahousing portion and a mounting portion that are formed as an integralunit; the housing portion including a plurality of adapters formed as anintegral unit with the housing portion; each adapter including an accessopening, a front opening and a rear opening, the front and rear openingsconfigured to receive and mate with fiber optic connectors and opticallyconnect fiber optic connectors inserted into the front and rearopenings; inner housing components and a ferrule alignment sleeve foreach adapter; the access opening positioned between the front and rearopenings and sized to permit the inner housing components and theferrule alignment sleeve to be positioned within the adapter between thefront and rear openings; the mounting portion configured to mount theintegral body within a chassis through a front opening of the chassisand position the housing portion adjacent one side of the chassis withadapters accessible through the front and a rear opening on the chassis.2. The fiber optic adapter module of claim 1, wherein a panel ispositioned within the access opening of each adapter and holds the innerhousing components and ferrule alignment sleeve within the adapter. 3.The fiber optic adapter module of claim 1, wherein each adapter includesa movable shutter mounted within the front opening and blocking lightfrom being transmitted from the rear opening through the front opening.4. The fiber optic adapter module of claim 3, wherein each movableshutter is mounted within a slot adjacent the front opening of one ofthe adapters.
 5. The fiber optic adapter module of claim 4, wherein themovable shutter is held within the slot by a tab of the shutter engaginga tab opening in the housing portion adjacent the slot.
 6. The fiberoptic adapter module of claim 1, wherein four adapters are included inthe housing portion.
 7. The fiber optic adapter module of claim 1,wherein the mounting portion includes a flange extending opposite thehousing portion, the flange including a releasable fastener for mountingthe adapter module within the chassis.
 8. The fiber optic adapter moduleof claim 7, wherein the releasable fastener is a thumbscrew captivelyheld by the flange of the mounting portion.
 9. A fiber optic adapterassembly comprising: a unitary body with a housing portion that isformed as an integral unit with the body, the housing portion includinga plurality of adapters formed as an intergral unit with the housingportion; each adapter including an access opening, a front opening and arear opening, the front and rear openings configured to receive and matewith fiber optic connectors and optically connect fiber optic connectorsinserted into the front and rear openings; inner housing components anda ferrule alignment sleeve for each adapter; the access openingpositioned between the front and rear openings and sized to permit theinner housing components and the ferrule alignment sleeve to bepositioned within the adapter between the front and rear openings; apanel positioned within the access opening of each adapter and holds theinner housing components and ferrule alignment sleeve within theadapter; each adapter including a movable shutter mounted within thefront opening and blocking light from being transmitted from the rearopening through the front opening.
 10. The fiber optic adapter module ofclaim 9, wherein each movable shutter is mounted within a slot adjacentthe front opening of one of the adapters.
 11. A fiber optic adapterassembly, comprising: a housing defining a plurality of adapters formedas an integral unit with the housing, the housing defining a top, abottom, and first and second transverse sides extending between the topand the bottom, the housing including a mounting slide at the top of thehousing for slidably guiding the adapter assembly into a piece oftelecommunications equipment; the mounting slide including a horizontalguide portion and a vertical guide portion, the mounting slide includinga flange for holding a mounting fastener, the mounting fastenerextending in a direction going from a front of the housing toward a rearof the housing, the mounting fastener being rotatable relative to thehousing about a longitudinal axis of the mounting fastener; each adapterof the housing including a front opening for receiving a first fiberoptic connector, a rear opening for receiving a second fiber opticconnector adapted to mate with the first fiber optic connector, and aside opening for receiving a ferrule alignment sleeve and inner housinghalves; and the housing including a panel closing off the side openingof at least one of the adapters for holding the ferrule alignment sleeveand the inner housing halves within the adapter.